Red Beans & Rice

I am famous for my red beans & rice. People ask me for the recipe all the time, and it is the #1 request when we have folks over for dinner. This dish is very special to me, which is probably why it tastes so good. I love making it, and I think you can taste that in the food. I grew up eating RB & R frequently. My grandmother was from Louisiana, and my mom spent every summer there till she was 21. I didn't realize till I moved away from home how much of the food I grew up with was cajun or influenced by that cuisine.
RB & R is one of those recipes that everyone makes slightly different. My recipe is a combination of my mother's and my grandmother's. There are 2 important secrets to making the perfect pot of red beans, and I learned 1 from mom, the other from Maw Maw (grandmother). Secrets will be noted in the body of the recipe...

Red Beans and Rice, My way:

1 lb. small red chili beans. Do NOT use kidney beans. You can usually find small red beans in the mexican, latin, or spanish section of your grocery store. GOYA brand is good to use.
Soak the beans overnight. Drain & rinse.

These days I make my beans in the crock pot, but you can use the stove if you start the heat at medium, then keep the heat on very low for several hours, and you are around to manage the beans all day.

Take 4 thick slices of bacon and layer them across the bottom of the crockpot. If you can't get your hands on thick bacon, use 6 slices of thin. Try to get uncured smoked bacon if you can. If you've got a leftover ham bone with meat on it, you can use that instead. Do not use salt pork or smoked ham shanks sold at the grocery store/butcher. Both will add fat but no flavor.

Pour the soaked, drained, & rinsed beans on top of the bacon. Add enough warm water to cover the beans + 1 1/2 inches. Do not stir. Cover the crockpot.
NOTE: If you are going to be gone for more than 8 hours, turn your crockpot on LOW. It is best to have the beans on HIGH, check the beans after 6 hours, then turn down to LOW. Every crockpot is different, so you might want to try this recipe out on a weekend first, when you are home and can check the beans after 6 hours or so. Basically you are cooking the beans till they are tender. This can take anywhere from 6-8 hours. If you are gone for 8-10 hours, it's ok, just keep the crockpot on LOW the whole time. You never want your water to be less than 1/2 inch above the beans. But not too much either...

When beans are tender, stir, being sure to scrape the bottom of the pot to move the bacon. Season with Tobasco, Louisiana Crystal Hot Sauce (Red Devil is similar), and Tony Chachere's Seasoning. I suppose you can use any ol' cajun seasoning mix if you can't get your hands on Tony Chachere's. Tony's has salt, plus you've got salt from the bacon, so I find no need to add more salt. After you season, wait 5 minutes to taste. These seasoning taste better the longer they are in the beans, which is why RB & R is so good leftover the next day.

Now, here is secret #1 (Maw Maw): Using a large spoon, mash some of the beans against the side of the pot. This will thicken the sauce. I mash about 1/4 of the beans. Don't be tempted to take them out and whizz them in the food processor, that will overdo it. Keep it simple.

Make your rice--white or brown, it's your choice. I like medium-grained. Especially "Texmati" brand (of course). Sometimes I just make a loaf of cornbread and dump my beans on a slice of it in a bowl instead of making rice.

Please serve your beans and rice (or cornbread) in nice deep bowls. Rice or cornbread first, then ladle the beans on top.
Secret #2 (Mom): Add one capful of white distilled vinegar to each bowl of beans and rice, and stir. Aaron adds 3, which is fine because he is vinegar crazy. I'm telling you, this is the key!!

And there you have it. Freezes beautifully.

Healthy "Pizza"

So I already told you that I've been following Joel Furhman's "Eat to Live." Just to set the record straight, I do this 90% of the time. The other 10% of the time I eat what I want. An example of my typical week looks like this:
Monday thru Friday: fresh fruits and veggies; beans & nuts; and tofu; 1-2 servings of whole grains a day; green tea & water. Saturday night: pizza and beer (or some other yummy meal indulgence).

I have had to get creative in finding fast meals to make M-F for me and my family. One of my favorites is healthy "pizza." I am quite fond of all pizzas, healthy or not, so I find any excuse to eat it. Here is one of my standby meals for when I get home late and don't have much time to cook:
1 ball whole wheat pizza dough
tomato sauce (recipe in another posting)
1 can artichoke hearts, drained
oregano & parsley.

Preheat the oven to 475*. Roll out your dough & place on a pizza pan. Roll up the edges of the pizza to make a crust (this prevents the edges from burning). Lightly spray with pure olive oil cooking spray. Cover pie with tomato sauce. Now chop up those artichoke hearts very fine. It's almost like you are making an artichoke spread. Spread the hearts across the entire pizza. Sprinkle with oregano & parsley. Now, if you are ignoring Dr. Fuhrman, you can sprinkle some parmasean across the top of the pizza here. It will get brown and yummy after baked. Lightly spray the top with more olive oil. Throw it in the oven, and bake till the crust begins to brown. Congrats, you just ate an entire pound of green vegetables!